Ten thousand Opel workers protest against GM U-turn (1st Lead)

Nov 5, 2009, 10:08 GMT

   Berlin - Some 10,000 workers at Opel's largest car factory in Germany stopped work on Thursday to protest against the sudden decision of parent General Motors (GM) not to sell the firm as planned, fearing heavy job losses and factory closures.

   The Detroit-based automotive giant stunned both the German government and Opel employees on Wednesday, when after months of negotiations to sell the firm to an Austrian-Russian consortium, it announced it would now restructure it itself.

GM said Wednesday that it would cut 10,000 jobs across Europe and may close factories.

Roland Koch, premier of the state of Hesse and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling Christian Democrats, addressed the crowd at the Ruesselsheim plant.

'We demand that Opel will have a future in Germany and in Europe,' he said.

   Opel employs some 25,000 people in four factories in Germany, and 50,000 in Europe as a whole, including the British Vauxhall brand.

Further demonstrations are planned in Opel's other sites in Germany during Thursday. An emergency meeting of the Flemish government in Belgium, where Opel also has a plant, was going on and industrial action was planned there this week.

Unions fear that GM will now cut more jobs in Germany than had been planned under the previous deal, in which Austrian-Canadian parts manufacturer Magna, in cooperation with Russian bank Sberbank, would have taken control of Opel.

Koch expressed the government's anger over GM's actions, calling it a massive 'waste of time.'

The German government began negotiating the future of Opel with GM over a year ago.

Koch promised the workers that the government would work for the best possible outcome for them, and attempted to mitigate renewed fears of job losses.

'This is not an end but a beginning,' he said.     The German government had gone to great lengths to preserve jobs in the country ahead of national elections which took place in September.

   GM's decision has been received as a serious loss of face for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

   GM has given little indication so far of what its own restructuring plan for Opel, which suffers from excess production capacity amongst other problems, will involve.

   The Magna deal had been criticized by other European countries where Opel has factories, such as Spain and Britain, because it appeared to safeguard German jobs over economic logic.

   However senior Christian Democrat (CDU) parliamentarian Volker Kauder told broadcaster ZDF on Thursday that 'We are expecting from Opel and GM that the jobs in Germany will be kept.'